Help!!!

I need your input/thoughts. Yesterday I bought 4 racks of ribs that I was going to smoke tomorrow. I put them in the garage refrigerator last night, one of my kids got a coke out and the door was left cracked open (about an inch) because of a plastic bag that got caught. I didn't realize it until this morning.

Are they toast? They were the vacuum packed kind and were still cool to the touch. I put them in the freezer to cool down but I'm trying to decide what to do, I'd hate to throw them out if I don't have to. I put a themometer in a water bottle that was in the fridge next to them and it read 50 degrees.

Hard to say for sure, probably around 12 hours. The fridge was open about an inch. The ribs were on the middle shelf. The door opens left to right and the ribs were on the side away from the door opening, hope that makes sense. The fridge only has liquids in it water, beer, sodas etc.

Man that's a tough call. If you want to be 100% safe then you throw them out. Nothing worse then getting your family and friends sick. Are they safe? I would say probably especially if they are cold to the touch. But still there is always the chance. That's a call you will have to make. I have done similar things and gambled and cooked and ate the meat and it turned out ok but you just never know. I wouldn't feel comfortable telling you its safe and then someone gets sick. This will be a call that only you can make.

If it were me I would cook them if it were just me eating it but if I was serving it to others I would probably throw them as I would feel horrible if someone got sick. If you knew their temp and knew how long they were at that temp then you could make an educated guess but being there is a big unknown that's what makes it scary for me.

well, looks like my last post got eradicated, lol! I replied that if your fridge was maintaining 50° and the meat was COV and cooler to the touch than the fridge, then it was 40-45°. Most meatcases run about 45-50° and meat lasts 2-3 days in them, so there wouldn't be a problem, cook away!

Yeah, I thought about the probe, but that would puncture the vacuum pack and make me worry even more. I think I'm going to freeze these and get 4 new racks for tomorrow. I'll save the ones I have now and use for just me and the wifey (maybe the MIL!).